A leopard that changed its spots, a substance just one atom thick, an invisibility cloak, and a creature that sees with its feet—though they sound too far-fetched to be true, Lewis Smith assures us that these are all recent real-life discoveries. The science and environment reporter for London's Times newspaper, Smith touches on more than a hundred topics entertaining and vividly illustrated trek through modern science, examining such questions as: What is it about a lion's mane that tells the females if they're looking at the cream of the pride? Why is there a hole in the Earth's crust? Are volcanoes still erupting on the moon? How are cricket bats helping to secure the future of the koala bear? And did Hobbits really exist?